swill

1 of 2

verb

swilled; swilling; swills

transitive verb

1
2
: to drink great drafts of : guzzle
swill beer
3
: to feed (an animal, such as a pig) with swill

intransitive verb

1
: to drink or eat freely, greedily, or to excess
2
: swash
swiller noun

swill

2 of 2

noun

1
: something suggestive of slop or garbage : refuse
2
a
: a semiliquid food for animals (such as swine) composed of edible refuse mixed with water or skimmed or sour milk
b

Examples of swill in a Sentence

Verb She watched the water swill around in the bucket. He swilled the water around in the pot. He swilled the floor with buckets of water. Noun took his daily swill of the foul-tasting medicine I don't know what's in this swill, but I know that I'm not eating it.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Many foods and drinks are salty, including—as Tremble noted—the cups of Gatorade that those guys are always swilling in the dugout. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024 To the backdrop of a playlist brimming with Brandy, Aaliyah, Monica, and Mariah, attendees swilled around outside the cinema room at NeueHouse for a pre-show cocktail and snack. Freya Drohan, Vogue, 12 Sep. 2024
Noun
How the temperature and timing of the pour can be the difference between a sublime cup of caffeinated goodness or diner-level swill. Anthony Karcz, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Hartley connected his temperance and milk crusades in An Essay on Milk from 1842, arguing that milk produced in cities was impure not just because of its adulteration by contaminants like formaldehyde, but also because of its sourcing from urban swill sheds. Catherine Long, JSTOR Daily, 17 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for swill 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English swilen, from Old English swillan

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of swill was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near swill

Cite this Entry

“Swill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swill. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

swill

1 of 2 verb
1
: drench
2
: to drink or eat greedily
3
: to feed (as a pig) with swill
swiller noun

swill

2 of 2 noun
1
: food for animals (as pigs) made from scraps of food mixed with water or skimmed or sour milk
2
3

More from Merriam-Webster on swill

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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